Save `Most' For Breezy Writes

Word Watch

August 30, 2005|By ROB KYFF

Q: More and more people seem to be using ``most'' in situations where we used to use ``almost.'' For instance, instead of hearing, ``Almost everyone at the party knew Bob,'' I'm hearing, ``Most everyone at the party knew Bob.''

In the past year I've also seen it in print on numerous occasions. On the front page of the At Home section of today's Courant, a caption states, ``The Maglios shop the sales most every Saturday.'' . . . So what's happening here? -- Carol Corliss, Avon

A: Most all of us chawin' 'round the cracker barrel down to Delbert's Depot know that feller Bob too, and we seen them Maglios up upcountry most ev'ry Sattiday. Ah-yup.

OK, so substituting ``most'' for ``almost'' does impart a down-home, informal feel. But is it wrong?

Not necessarily.

In fact, using ``most'' for ``almost'' has been a standard American idiom since the 1700s, and some pretty distinguished people have used it: `` . . . the Tassels of most all the corn'' (George Washington, 1770); `` ... it showers most all the time (Emily Dickinson, 1842); `` ... accompanies him most everywhere'' (Frank Deford, 1983).

When ``most'' replaces ``almost,'' it usually precedes the adjectives ``all,'' ``every'' and ``any,'' the pronouns ``all,'' ``anybody,'' and ``everything,'' and the adverbs ``always,'' ``anywhere'' and ``everywhere.''

(The use of ``most'' for ``almost'' before other words is considered dialectical, as when Mark Twain's character Huckleberry Finn says, ``It most froze me to hear such talk.'')

But because trimming ``almost'' to ``most'' conveys a breezy, casual tone, save this idiom for informal writing.

Q: I have repeatedly heard television announcers use the phrase ``an historic moment'' instead of ``a historic moment.'' Can this possibly be correct usage? -- Sarah Z., Havelock, N.C.

A: Until recently, it most froze grammarians to hear such talk. Traditionally, the rule has always been to use ``an'' before a word beginning with an unpronounced ``h'' (``an hour,'' ``an honor'') and ``a'' before any word beginning with a pronounced ``h'' (``a history book,'' ``a habit'').

But change is blowin' in the tassels. Most usage authorities now endorse ``an'' before a word beginning with a pronounced ``h'' when the word's second syllable is stressed (``an hisTORic moment,'' ``an haBITual offender'').